Atlas of Wintering Waterbirds of Libya 2005-2010

Price not provided, but available from www.isprambiente.gov.it. A valuable addition to conservation of waterbirds in a country where conservation is probably low on the list of current priorities. Any publication raising the awareness of wildlife and conservation in countries where, historically, appreciating the value of wildlife has been lacking is to be applauded. As a book, this volume acts as a comprehensive baseline of variety, numbers and geographic locations of waterbirds - ranging from ducks and geese, herons, raptors, waders and gulls and even species such as Short-eared Owl and Cream-coloured Courser - a wader known for avoiding water!

At first glance the book appears text heavy, with a small colour photo for each species account but, on further investigation, many of the accounts have fold out double pages, with a range of stunning colour photos, evoking the various plumages and the habitats that they live in.